


everybody needs some company

by bertee



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, M/M, Prostitution, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-27
Updated: 2012-05-27
Packaged: 2017-11-11 10:21:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/477506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertee/pseuds/bertee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jensen is a hooker, Jeff is a thief and Jared disapproves of their life choices. Also there is a zombie apocalypse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	everybody needs some company

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "soft sheets".

Jared scrambled for a knife at the first rattle of the gate closing.

Even after a week in the compound, the weapon still felt unfamiliar in his hand but he held it ready as he crept over to peek through the window. The manor was already lost but he wasn't about to let the infected take his new home without a fight.

The night was windy, enough to make the ragged curtains shift with the draft that snuck in through the cracks and Jared took a deep breath as he inched the curtains aside to see who was outside. 

If it was an infected, he really hoped they still had all their body parts. He didn't think he'd ever get used to seeing people staggering around without a throat.

He tumbled backward with a yelp when the only thing he saw was Jensen's face inches from his own.

"Hey!"

Jared clambered back to his feet at the shout and the sharp rap on the window that followed, and he pulled back the curtains to confirm that yes, that was definitely Jensen's face he'd seen. Thankfully it was still attached to Jensen's head and body rather than ripped off as a macabre trophy and Jared gathered his wits again when Jensen put his hands on his hips and nodded impatiently to the door.

"Right!" Jared called through the window. "Sorry!"

As always, the house was locked down tight and it took Jared a good sixty seconds to open all the locks, bolts and chains which held the door shut.

Jensen was waiting on the door step when he finally got it open, arms folded across his chest as protection against the wind, but he held out the back of his hand for Jared to swipe instead of heading straight inside.

"Sometime today would be great," he said, wiggling his fingers.

They kept a stash of test pads beside the door and Jared apologized again as he wiped one over the back of Jensen's hand, "Sorry."

Distracted by the ring of bruises around Jensen's wrist, it took him a second to notice the test was clear. He stepped back quickly, letting Jensen in out of the cold, and then went to work locking the door behind him as Jensen made a beeline for the cabinet on the far side of the room.

Unsure what to do with himself, Jared loitered by the door as he watched Jensen twist open a bottle of something murky and take a long swig.

(Jared's experience of alcohol was mostly limited to the wines he'd sampled at various dinner parties. Jensen had given him something from the cabinet on the day he'd arrived but after a tiny sip had made his eyes water and his throat burn, Jared had declined any future offers.)

Despite Jared's distrust of the cabinet and its contents, Jensen seemed pleased with whatever he was drinking and let out a quiet little sigh when he put the bottle back with the rest. He wasn't infected -- the test had proved that -- but the bruises stood out starkly on his wrists and when he turned around, Jared caught sight of a few fresh marks on his neck.

Embarrassment flared up when Jensen caught him staring -- it wasn't polite and Jared should have known better -- and he stammered, "You, uh- Did you have a good day?"

Jensen's lips curved up in amusement and Jared tried to tamp down the familiar rush of annoyance at how entertaining Jensen and Jeff seemed to find him.

"You sure you want me to answer that?" Jensen asked, gesturing to his outfit.

Against his better judgment, Jared let himself look at the tight tee and strategically ripped jeans Jensen wore to work. His ever-present gun rested in a holster strapped to his thigh but everything else about him, from his slick lips to the suspicious smears on his pants, spoke of sex.

"I'm just being polite," Jared said firmly. "It doesn't hurt to be courteous, even to a…"

He fumbled for the right word and Jensen rolled his eyes. "You can say hooker, your highness. I'm kinda hard to offend."

Jared clenched his jaw. "I already said you could call me Jared."

"What was that about courtesy?" Jensen teased. 

Jared sighed. He was beyond grateful that Jeff and Jensen had been there to save his life when the infection had reached his family's estate and he was thankful that they'd taken him in rather than leaving him alone in a refuge somewhere but sometimes they found it far too amusing that Jared was of noble stock.

Taking a breath, Jared forced himself to calm down. As distasteful as prostitution was, he relied partly upon the income Jensen brought in, and with the spread of the infection growing wider every day, he couldn't afford to turn down shelter and protection, no matter how disreputable his saviors were.

When he looked back at Jensen, it was to see Jensen's smile had widened.

"You're trying really hard not to hate me, aren't you?" Jensen asked.

"You saved my life," Jared said earnestly. "I don't hate you."

"But you can't help judging me a little?"

Going by Jensen's tone, Jared's judgment wasn't a particularly big concern of his but Jared ducked his head in embarrassment anyway. "I'm sorry," he said. "This is new to me. I was brought up with certain standards-" Jensen raised his eyebrows and Jared amended, "Prostitution was always treated as something base and inappropriate. It's difficult to reconcile that with you."

Jensen shrugged, crossing the room to the bowl of cold water which served as a washroom. "I don't know," he said, "'base and inappropriate' seems like a decent summary." He soaked a cloth in water and started to wipe his arms down as he glanced back at Jared. "But hey, it's the end of the world and people are still eager to pay for whores. I could've picked a worse line of work."

Jared averted his eyes when Jensen pulled his shirt off to wipe himself down, but not before he caught sight of the fresh lines striping Jensen's back.

"It's a fine occupation," Jared said with as much conviction as he could muster. 

Jensen laughed. "It's sucking cock for money," he said easily. "It's not exactly respectable."

"The infection keeps growing," Jared murmured. "I don't think anyone cares about respectable any more."

"Except you?"

Jared looked down at his hands but Jensen said, unfazed, "Hey, it's sweet. You make the best faces when you're scandalized by our depravity."

Jared toed at the floor. "I'm not scandalized," he said sullenly.

Jensen snorted. "Sure. It was totally just coincidence that you nearly choked on your own tongue when Jeff told you I was a hooker." Soaking the rag in the water again, he looked over his shoulder. "Talking of Jeff, is he back yet?"

"Not yet," Jared said, pleased to have a different topic of conversation than prostitution. "He said he'd be home before midnight."

"Then I guess you'll have to do," Jensen said with a shrug. He held the cloth out to Jared. "Can you clean my back for me? I can't reach."

Jared blinked. "Can I what?"

Jensen rolled his eyes. "C'mon, man. This isn't like the infection -- I promise you're not going to turn into a sex worker just by touching me." He threw the cloth in Jared's direction, hard enough that Jared couldn't help but catch it. "Help me out here."

He turned his back to give Jared access and Jared straightened up as he approached. 

He'd survived an attack by the infected. Wiping down another man's back couldn't be that hard.

The marks on Jensen's back were even more vivid up close and Jared felt a tremor run through Jensen's body when he pressed the cloth to his skin, wiping away the layer of dirt and sweat that covered him.

"You're hurt."

Jensen made a dismissive noise. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing," Jared said, carefully cleaning between the welts and then smoothing the cloth down Jensen's spine. "Why did they do this to do?"

He heard Jensen's slow exhale but he kept his back turned as he said simply, "Because they think the world's ending. What's the point of holding back if they're gonna die in a few days?"

"It's not proper," Jared muttered under his breath. 

Jensen looked back with a smile. "I'll be sure to tell them that when they're paying to fuck me."

"You could do something else," he said, wiping down to Jensen's lower back. "You're smart and courageous and resourceful. You could do something other than prostitution."

Jensen's shoulders tightened. "You been talking to Jeff?"

Jared frowned. "Not about you? Should I?"

He felt the tension ebb away under his hands. "It's fine," Jensen said. "He's not exactly a fan of my career choices either. But hey-" He reached into his pocket and dropped a thick wad of bills on the table. "-someone's gotta make the money around here, right?"

"Jeff-"

"Doesn't make money," Jensen cut in. "He trades and steals and does god knows what else but he's better at getting goods than bringing in cash."

"But you could still-"

"No," Jensen said. The cloth slid over his hip as he turned around and Jared froze at their renewed proximity. "This is how it is." He smirked. "You don't see me trying to change you, do you?"

"You try to change me all the time! You made me change to common clothes and Jeff made me address you by your first names and you keep trying to get me to call you a 'hooker' and…"

He trailed off as Jensen's smile broadened. "That was a joke, wasn't it?"

Jensen nudged him in the ribs. "You're catching on, your highness."

If he'd been in the comfort of his own house, Jared would've allowed himself to feel offended but there in their makeshift home, he had trouble thinking of anything other than how good Jensen looked when he smiled. 

It had taken him a while to adjust his perception of Jeff and Jensen from the gruff, mysterious fighters who'd saved him from infection to the easygoing couple who seemed to enjoy teasing him relentlessly. They were less intimidating like that, less likely to murder Jared in his sleep, but aside from his own personal safety, Jared had decided there was something about Jensen's smile that made him want to see it all the time.

He'd been happy with his conclusion that this was just aesthetics. Jensen was handsome enough and that quality was simply enhanced when he was smiling, but as Jensen looked up at him with bright eyes, Jared couldn't ignore the tiny little twist in his gut.

Aesthetics had never had that effect before.

"I, uh-"

His stammered statement was interrupted by the growl of an engine at the back of the house. Jensen's face lit up at the sound and he patted Jared on the arm as he asked, "Hey, can you go open the door for Jeff while I finish cleaning up? Tell him he's only allowed back in if he brought me some coffee."

"I can do that."

Ignoring the twisty feeling (and the thought of Jensen stripping down to clean all traces of other men from his body), Jared hurried over to the back door just as Jeff banged on it.

"Coming!" he called through the wood.

The back door had just as many locks as the front but Jared had a test pad ready and waiting when he got it open. Jeff's truck sat in what passed for their garage and Jared did a double-take at the sight of the large wicker basket that rested on the step behind him.

"Jensen told me not to let you in unless you brought coffee," he said, swiping the back of Jeff's hand and coming up negative for infection. "But I think he was joking."

Jeff's eyes were dark and tired but sparked back to life a little as he chuckled. "Always in it for the damn coffee. Yeah, I brought some." He looked past Jared into the house. "I'm guessing he's home?"

"Just getting cleaned up." Jared hesitated. "He… He's injured."

"Injured?" Jeff took a step forward. "How badly? Does he need a medic?"

"No, no," Jared said quickly, taken aback by the urgency in Jeff's voice. "It's only some bruising. I just- I thought you should be informed."

The panic faded from Jeff's face and he gave Jared a pat on the arm. Apparently that was the way of expressing affection in this house. "Thanks, kid. It's good that you're looking out for him."

In addition to arm-patting, both Jeff and Jensen were evidently allergic to calling Jared by his actual name.

"Can you grab those boxes for me?" Jeff asked, hoisting the basket up in his arms. "Lock the door behind you."

He moved past him into the main room of the house and Jared scooped up the two boxes then followed him inside. They were mostly full of food, drinking water and basic supplies, and he set them on the kitchen counter before locking the door behind him and heading through towards the sound of voices in the bedroom.

He'd barely passed through the doorway when he heard Jensen's noise of delight. "Oh, man, seriously? I love you."

Jensen's arms were around Jeff's neck when Jared made it into the bedroom and he averted his gaze quickly at the sight of the two of them kissing. He'd known that men sometimes had relationships with other men but it was still taking him a while to adjust to the idea of a thief and a prostitute together with Jared as the only other person in the house.

He only knew they'd broken apart when he heard Jeff's low rumble, "I think we're making him uncomfortable."

He looked up to see Jensen smile. "Everything makes him uncomfortable."

The bruises were still visible on his body but his work clothes had been replaced by a fresh tee and a pair of loose sweats. Jeff's hands rested on his ass with easy possessiveness and Jared turned his attention to the blue fabric that was spilling out of the large wicker basket. "What did you get?"

There was a look of pure joy on Jensen's face as he broke away from Jeff and tugged a sizeable comforter out of the basket. A sheet and pillowcases tumbled out after it and Jensen peered over the comforter with a child-like grin on his face. "Our sleeping situation just improved by two hundred percent."

As infectious as Jensen's glee was, Jared had a hard time maintaining his enthusiasm when he knew he would be sleeping on the tattered couch again that night. Nevertheless, he summoned up a smile and said politely, "That's great."

"It's more than great," Jensen said, wrapping himself in the comforter and dropping to a seat on the bed. "We've been looking for decent bedding for weeks." He poked his bare foot out to nudge Jeff's thigh. "Nice job, dude."

"Straight from an abandoned townhouse," Jeff said, reaching down to tickle Jensen's foot. "Never say I don't bring you anything."

Squirming away from the tickling, Jensen reached up to grab Jeff's jacket and pull him in for another deep kiss. Jared had seen Jeff decapitate two of the infected with a single machete strike but he went down easily under Jensen's grip, riding him back down to the mattress as he kissed him thoroughly.

Jared cleared his throat. "I'll leave you to it," he said. "I'll be on the couch if you need anything."

He turned to leave but Jensen was on his feet before he could get far. 

"Wait!"

Detangling himself from Jeff and the comforter, Jensen jogged across the room to grab his arm. "You don't need to sleep on the couch, Jared." 

Jared supposed it was a good thing that they at least remembered his name.

Jensen gave him a hopeful little smile. "It's a big bed."

Wide-eyed, Jared looked between Jensen and Jeff. "It wouldn't be proper."

"Nothing we do is proper," Jensen said bluntly. "C'mon, Jared." He moved his hand down to take Jared's and gave him a tug in the direction of the bed. "Giant bed, new comforter, soft sheets… That's gotta be better than an old couch with broken springs."

"Warmer too," Jeff said, nodding to Jensen. "This one'll cling onto you like a goddamn limpet."

"Shut up," Jensen muttered. "You're not helping."

Jeff didn't look especially remorseful as he got to his feet and rested his hands on Jensen's hips. Jensen didn't blink as he batted his hands away and Jared focused on Jensen's face as Jeff chuckled, moving across the room to get dressed and to make the bed.

"Come on," Jensen pushed, looking up at him with big innocent eyes. "All we're going to do is sleep. It's not that scary." He smiled. "You can even go in the middle if you're worried about me and Jeff doing anything." 

His fingers trailed down Jared's chest as he unfastened some of the buttons on his shirt and Jared swallowed hard. He was starting to understand why other men were willing to pay Jensen so much money to be with them.

"I- I'd prefer the outside," Jared said, trying to keep his composure. His etiquette lessons had never prepared him for sharing a bed with two other men. "So I can, uh, extricate myself if I need to."

Jensen's smile grew broader and brighter. "Great!" He patted Jared on the chest. "Get changed and come to bed."

Jared gulped. "Right now?"

"Hey, I'm tired. Some of us have been working our asses off today." 

Given what Jensen's work involved, Jared was pretty sure he'd only said it to see him blush. It had the desired effect though and Jared turned away to hide his red cheeks as he stripped down to his loaned tee and shorts

The room darkened as Jensen turned off the lamps one by one and Jared hesitated by the side of the bed as he waited for Jensen to finish. They hadn't been lying about the size -- the bed was definitely big enough for the three of them -- but it somehow seemed smaller now that Jared had agreed to share it.

Jeff was already settled down on his back, his glasses set aside on the table, and Jared jumped at the touch of Jensen's hand on his arm as he stared down at the bed.

"It's not going to eat you," Jensen said, his smile just about visible in the moonlight. He moved past him, giving Jared a quick pat on the ass before climbing under the new sheets and settling down next to Jeff. "Come to bed, your highness."

Apparently grumpiness was enough to motivate Jared into movement.

"Stop calling me that," he groused as he got into bed. However, it was hard to stay annoyed as he lay back on the soft mattress and he barely managed to contain a groan of satisfaction when he wrapped himself up in the thick, warm comforter.

"I take it you're happy with that?" Jensen asked, and Jared nodded stiffly.

"It's very comfortable."

"Good." Jensen's voice was in his ear and Jared tensed at the hand that rested on his hip. "Now relax and go to sleep."

"I am relaxed."

Jensen snorted. "Liar." He snuggled in closer, his warm body fitting up against Jared's back, and against his better judgment, Jared found himself enjoying the contact. "We're very nice men," Jensen said around a yawn. "I promise."

Jared closed his eyes and let himself sink into the pillow. "Jeff's a thief and you're a prostitute."

He felt Jensen smile against the back of his neck. "Hey, you're our accomplice now," he said sleepily. "Welcome to the club."

Jared frowned. "Do prostitutes have accomplices?"

Jensen ignored him. "Goodnight, Jared."

"What would a prostitute accomplice do?"

" _Goodnight_ , Jared."

Jensen's tone didn't invite further discussion and Jared put the thought out of his head as he tried to relax. The bed was cozy and the press of Jensen's body against his was not as unwelcome as he would've anticipated, but Jared decided to go to sleep before he could contemplate that thought any further.

Jeff's breathing was already deep and steady, and Jared waited for Jensen's to even out too before he whispered in response, "Goodnight, Jensen."

Jensen's only response was to snuggle in closer and in the darkness of the compound, Jared let himself smile a little at the warmth that flooded through him. 

Maybe he could learn to live with this whole bed-sharing situation.


End file.
